C.J. McCollum

In his second full season as Portland's starting shooting guard and complement to superstar Damian Lillard in the backcourt, McCollum continued to show why the Trail Blazers gave him a four-year, $106 million extension on his rookie contract. While the team as a whole didn't...

Following a huge showing in the 2015 NBA Playoffs, McCollum’s production was expected to take a quantum leap in 2015-16 while he displaced the departed Wesley Matthews as the Blazers’ starting shooting guard. The 2013 lottery pick somehow ended up being even better than advertised, churning out averages of 20.8 points (on 44.8% shooting from the field), 4.3 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 2.5 three-pointers and 1.2 steals across 34.8 minutes per game in 80 appearances en route to claiming NBA Most Improved Player honors. McCollum formed a lethal backcourt combination with star point guard Damian Lillard, with his elite 41.7 percent mark from three-point range and top-shelf playmaking skills allowing him to capably pick up the slack when Lillard struggled or missed time due to injury. He’ll probably need to elevate his impact in the defensive categories in order to turn into a true two-way fantasy stud, but McCollum’s overwhelming contributions in terms of points and three-pointers are good enough to make him a safe early-round fantasy selection. After signing McCollum to a four-year, $106 million contract extension in July, the Trail Blazers clearly don’t view the 25-year-old as a flash in the pan, and neither should fantasy owners.

2015-16

In his second NBA season, McCollum was again afflicted by injury, suffering a fractured right index finger on Nov. 17 that wiped 14 games from the slate. Upon his return, minutes were difficult to come by and all but dried up when Arron Afflalo was acquired at the trade deadline. However, McCollum's late-season resurgence was spurred by Wesley Matthews' torn Achilles on Mar. 5, after which he played a vital role for the next 21 games, averaging 10.9 points (on 48 percent shooting), 2.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.1 three-pointers, and 1.0 steal in 22 minutes. When Afflalo has hindered by a sore shoulder in the postseason, McCollum was further pushed into the spotlight, displaying dynamic scoring acumen with at least 18 points and multiple three-pointers in each of the Blazers' final three playoff contests against the Grizzlies. Before Matthews bolted to the Mavericks in free agency, Blazers general manager Neil Olshey dealt fellow veteran wing Nicolas Batum to Charlotte for shooting guard Gerald Henderson, who started 262 of his final 280 games with the Bobcats. With a contingency plan in place in case Matthews opted for a change, Henderson was seemingly in line to begin the upcoming campaign in the starting five, but offseason hip surgery put a potential damper on that projection. Boosting McCollum's own cause was a vote of confidence from Olshey, who mentioned the third-year pro alongside Damian Lillard as the foundation of the Blazers' backcourt. If the preceding comes to pass, McCollum would be worthy of a late-round flier in standard formats.

2014-15

The Blazers' first-round pick from the 2013 NBA Draft, CJ McCollum's rookie season got off to a bumpy start after he broke the fifth metatarsal in his left foot early in training camp. His NBA debut was pushed back to Jan. 8, after which he logged time in 38 of the Blazers' final 47 contests. Outside of scoring, his production was mostly unremarkable - 5.3 points (on 42-percent shooting), 1.3 rebounds, 0.8 three-pointers, and 0.7 assists in 13 minutes per game - but the exchange of Mo Williams for Steve Blake in free agency could provide McCollum with a more direct path to act as Damian Lillard's primary backup. During his second dose of the Las Vegas Summer League in July, McCollum again showed off his scoring prowess, averaging 20.2 points and 2.0 three-pointers in 33 minutes per game. However, since facilitating isn't really his thing, with 10 total dimes through five contests, McCollum may be asked to play off the ball when on the court once the upcoming season commences.

2013-14

After striking gold with their first-round selection of Damian Lillard out of tiny Weber State last season, the Blazers went back to the small-college pool to nab another guard in this summer's draft, choosing McCollum out of Lehigh. Despite his small-school credentials, McCollum came up big time for the Blazers in the Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 21.0 points and 3.4 assists per game, though it came on a less-than-stellar 37 percent shooting mark from the field. Still, the performance demonstrated McCollum's capabilities as a dynamic scorer, a role the Blazers envision him filling during the regular season as their sixth man. Bench scoring was a major weakness for the Blazers last season and often resulted in bloated minute totals for Damian Lillard and Wesley Matthews, so if McCollum continues to transition well to the increased level of competition, coach Terry Stotts should hand him plenty of playing time to keep the starters fresh. Though he should see most of his action at shooting guard, the Blazers plan to give him some time running the point as well, which would provide more opportunities to gather assists.